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Monday, September 14, 2015

Fall Layers for my Capsule Wardrobe

I had a blue cardigan I bought a few years ago. I really love it, but it is starting to show it's age so I thought I'd try to recreate it. I traced it onto freezer paper, added seam allowance, and compared it to a standard t-shirt pattern to see if I was totally off base or not. Things looked good, so I cut it out of some cream interlock I bought at Joann's to try it out. And guess what, it's pretty good.

Cream may be a useful neutral color for a capsule wardrobe, but it looks pretty boring in these pictures. Either way, I think this will get worn a lot year round.

Construction wise, this was really simple. There was a back, 2 fronts, 2 sleeves, and a long band folded in half lengthwise to finish the front edge. Then I just hemmed the bottom and the sleeves with the double needle. The whole thing was done in under an hour.

There is only one problem with it. It feels a little tight through the upper arms and shoulders. It feels absolutely fine over a tank top (as in the photos), but I don't think I could wear it with anything thick. I saw some versions of the Jalie Drop Pocket Cardigan that I really liked, so I ordered the paper pattern and some fabric. In comparing my pattern pieces to the Jalie pieces, it's funny to see how close they are. The only differences are right there in those 2 places - the back width at the shoulders and the width of the sleeves in the upper arm.

Come back later this week to see the Jalie Drop Pocket Cardigan. It's good. :-)

In my opinion cream color is great, I like it with red and dark blue but it suits well in mustard-grey combo too :). This cardigan is definitely something everyone should have in their wardrobe. I would also love to sew a knit cardigan for me so I cannot wait to see your next version!